I cut some sycamore from a big old sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) tree that they took down when putting in a new bridge about 5 miles from where I live. Sycamore has a very strong medullary ray pattern that runs perpendicular to the growth rings. When sawn exactly along the medullary rays the wood displays a beautiful and variable set of medullary ray stripes. If you are off by just a couple of degrees on the sawing, the pattern turns from big stripes to just flecks so the angle of the sawing must be adjust every couple of slices.
There are two of these sycamore ukuleles. One of these tops I cut from a big old spruce that was taken down in the little town of Chapel, abut 3 miles from where I live. It is very fine grained, and very light and even in color. Lovely wood.
- Back and Sides: Sycamore
- Tops: one Sitka spruce, one local spruce
- Neck: Pennsylvania cherry
- Binding: East Indian rosewood (from Martin Guitar scraps)
- Fingerboard, bridge: dogwood from the back of my property
- Nut & saddle: mammoth ivory
- Black-White-Black purfling, Paua abalone rosettes
- Headstock: book-matched dogwood root burl from my neighbor, with a dogwood flower in white mother-of-pearl
